blog 12- Mental Illness

Isn't it sad that even with all the medical advances and discoveries and education available society still maintains a certain stigma against mental illness? I think so. Working in healthcare, I tend to find that when people don't know much about this type of illness, or what an umbrella for a variety of illnesses it is, they tend to judge or group those patients as "mentally retarded." All it really is is a lack of education and understanding. Why would a person uninterested in health take the time to research or learn about mental health especially if they aren't directly effected? Sometimes, even when a person is diagnosed, or a loved one is diagnosed, education lacks because the notion that the doctor will handle it takes over. Years and years ago, medical professionals didn't know what was wrong with people when they exhibited multiple personalities or developmental delays...eventually, many people weren't treated properly and sent off to insane asylums. It's actually quite an interesting history, field of work, and field to study. It really reminds you of how far the world of medicine has come. Education is a necessary approach to bring understanding about mental illness to light. A great avenue would be the media. People seem to plan their evenings around favorite sitcoms and reality TV or atleast DVR it. So, how about the networks develop characters in their programs that maybe have an illness or two? Medical programs already do this, but that doesn't always appeal to everyone. If someone likes comedy they might choose "Office Space" over "House." Also, channels like Discovery Health and TLC do a decent job in touching on mental health sometimes. I just think that if characters on TV could be developed than viewers could get a better sense of what a range it is for them to appear as. Also, it could show some care-giving or treatment methods. Media is creative enough to make such a character comedically fit into a show. My opinion. Another way would be to encourage late night viewing such as "Dateline" to spotlight mental health/illness. People just don't realize the spectrum and don't realize that it just isn't a severe case of Schizophrenia that makes up mental illness. And what were those stats again?? Something like half of all Americans will experience mental illness in their lifetimes (Alexander, L., Alexander, W., Bader, H., Garfield, S., LaRosa, J., 2010). That is a major deal and worth educating about. Frequent or routine physician visits are a way to ensure you are staying on top of your health. Your doctor may be able to pick up on something going on that you didn't think anything about and then refer you to the necessary professionals or for some testing to be safe. Mental Health is just as important as physical health.

For anyone really interested in Mental health or specifically OCD, have a look at this trailer put on by VH1. It's called The OCD Project.
http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/503670/the-ocd-project-supertrailer.jhtml

Reference

Alexander, L., Alexander, W., Bader, H., Garfield, S., and LaRosa, J. (2010). New Dimensions in Women's Health. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.